COVID-19, anti-Asian racism, unprotected nurses

This 14 May 2020 video from the USA says about itself:

United Against Hate: Asian American Legislators, Activists Discuss The Rise In Anti-Asian Racism

Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.), Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.), John Yang of Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC and Manju Kulkarni of A3PCON share their thoughts on the ramifications of anti-Asian racism with NBC correspondent Vicky Nguyen.

Translated from Dutch NOS radio today:

The coronavirus outbreak also leads to discrimination, racism and exclusion, mostly of people of East Asian appearance, reports the National Association of Anti-Discrimination Agencies. Discriminatie.nl examined 139 reports from the first four months of the year. It shows that most were about discrimination against people with a Chinese background or others about whom others think they are from China. …

“In many cases it is a form of hostile treatment, for example being name called ‘corona’ or ‘fucking Chinese’ on the street”, the analysis (.pdf) says. “The impact of the incidents is major. Several victims have indicated that they no longer feel safe on the street.”

Also translated from Dutch NOS radio today:

Healthcare workers continue to draw attention to the shortage of protective equipment they have every day. Two weeks ago, a survey by the professional association of nurses showed that more than half have too little protection, especially face masks are missing. Supposedly, bosses would look at the directive that regulates the deployment, but according to the trade union federation FNV nothing has changed at all. In their own poll, 60 per cent say they lack protection in nursing and home care.

“The amended guideline should state that health care workers who need it themselves should also be entitled to protective equipment,” says FNV member Kitty Jong. “But that has not happened yet. In practice, unfortunately, that means that employers say: ‘no, it is not necessary’. Even if the staff would like it themselves. They see in practice that it is necessary.”

She doesn’t understand why bosses are denying their employees the masks. “They don’t even have to pay for the costs. But there are, especially in home care, many different employers who also deal with their staff in very different ways.”

Actors Daniel Dae Kim, Daniel Wu and Gemma Chan want the public, authorities and the media to pay more attention to anti-Asian attacks related to COVID-19. https://t.co/oexj82Eqyz

— HuffPost Politics (@HuffPostPol) February 9, 2021

BIDEN CONDEMNS HATE CRIMES AGAINST ASIAN AMERICANS Biden called out the rise in attacks on Asian Americans since the beginning of the pandemic, saying these “vicious hate crimes” are “un-American.” A database collecting reports of racist incidents found more than 2,800 reports from Asian Americans by the end of 2020, a number that is likely an undercount. [HuffPost]